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Co•10 -24 PERMIT NO. 3-01 Shores Childcare, LLC., and The City of Redwood City October 12, 2001 Page 6 III. Findings and Declarations This authorization is given on the basis of the Commission's findings and declarations that the work authorized herein is consistent with the McAteer - Petris Act, the San Francisco Bay Plan, the California Environmental Quality Act, and the Commission's amended coastal zone management program for San Francisco Bay for the following reasons: A Use. The project site is not designated for any priority uses on Bay Plan Map No. 6. The Commission, therefore, finds that the project is consistent with the use requirements of the Bay Plan. B. Public Access. Section 66602 of the McAteer - Petris Act states, in part, that: "...existing public access to the shoreline and waters of the San Francisco Bay is inadequate and that maximum feasible public access, consistent with a proposed project, should be provided." The San Francisco Bay Plan policies on public access further states that "...maximum feasible public access should be provided in and through every new development in the Bay or on the shoreline... the access should be permanently guaranteed... should be consistent with the physical environment... provide for the public's safety and convenience... and built to encourage diverse Bay related activities and movement to and along the shoreline...." 1. Nexus. In assessing whether a proposed project would provide the maximum feasible public access consistent with the project, the Commission is guided, in part, by the deci- sions contained in Nollan et. ux. v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan et. ux. V. City of Tigard. In these decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public agency must show a nexus, or essential connection, between a permit condition and the public burden created by a private development project and that the condition must be roughly proportional to the burden. In this case, the project site is currently undeveloped except for a 10- foot -wide asphalt public access pathway along 375 feet of the shoreline. The.proposed childcare/office facility will draw parents and their children enrolled in the childcare program (the childcare facility will accommodate 160 children), employees of the childcare facility, as well as employees associated with the proposed general office uses, to the shoreline. In addition, the project site is one of the last undeveloped parcels on the Redwood Shores peninsula, a peninsula where several miles of public access trails have already been constructed on the levees encompassing the peninsula. Recognizing the importance of the Bay, its sloughs, marshlands, and associated wildlife to the children enrolled at the childcare center, their parents and employees for recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, and education, the permittees proposed to install landscaping and a 950 -square -foot seating and viewing area (a similarly -sized viewing area would be constructed at the southern end of the project site as the result of the relocation of a public access area required under BCDC Permit No. 4 -99) within the Commission's 100 -foot shoreline band jurisdiction. In addition, the 19,820- square -foot public access area will be permanently dedicated by the City for public access use. Therefore, the total public access available at the site with project implementation will be 24,060 square feet (of which 19,820 square feet will be provided as pan of the project and 4,240 square feet currently exists within the State Lands Commission easement) that will be connected to the childcare/office facility parking lot and to adjoining segments of the Redwood Shores levee trail loop to the north and south. These public access improvements have been required herein. The public access along the shoreline ranges from 54 feet wide to a maximum width of 170 feet with an average width of 63 feet. The landscaping will reduce potential conflicts between the childcare facility playground and public trail users while still allowing views